THE GLASS EYE

Oxford International Song Festival

About

THE GLASS EYE is a new song cycle by librettist Elayce Ismail and composer Alex Ho, commissioned by the Oxford International Song Festival (formerly Oxford Lieder Festival). It premiered at the Holywell Music Rooms, Oxford in the autumn 2023 edition of the festival, and was performed by countertenor Hugh Cutting and pianist Dylan Perez.

The 45-minute song cycle is inspired by Elayce’s memories of seeing the haunting and atmospheric Five Flower Lake in Jiuzhaigou National Park in China. It is set in an imagined future where humans have retreated underground, with only one window on the planet they polluted: a glassy pool of water through which they can see, but not feel, the air above. THE GLASS EYE is a haunting and atmospheric work that explores the broken connection between humans and the natural world, and is a warning against the destructive power of human nature.

The piece comprises a series of ten songs and two additional solo piano interludes that, in composer Alex Ho’s words, take audiences on a “journey that pivots between a siren - one warning of the delicate and destructive relationship between humans and the environment - and a set of lamentations grieving the violence we have inflicted and inevitably will continue to inflict. Our blurred sense of past, present and future is itself a central pillar of this narrative told from two perspectives: a narrator and a single human. The story unfolds in a non-linear fashion and draws out a tension between time running out and timelessness. What happens when time is so short it disappears? Does time disappear or do we?”.

THE GLASS EYE was recorded for presentation on the BBC Radio 3 New Music Show on Saturday 6 January 2024.
Listen to THE GLASS EYE for a limited period of time on the BBC website, here.

For more information about THE GLASS EYE and the concert performance, please visit the Oxford International Song Festival website, here.

Creative Team

Librettist: Elayce Ismail
Composer: Alex Ho

Performers

Countertenor: Hugh Cutting
Pianist: Dylan Perez

Selected Reviews

“…this is not only a substantial work, but an extraordinarily important one. Standing in the foyer of Oxford’s Holywell Music Room after the performance, I heard one audience member comment, “Gosh, that was a feat of endurance, for all of us!” - Yes, it certainly was!  But, it was a necessary one.  And, one that will surely be repeated and valued immensely.  For, countertenor Hugh Cutting and pianist Dylan Perez, through their astonishing artistry, commitment, musical intelligence and captivating communication, helped us to recognise the creative and human significance of the song cycle which Alex Ho and librettist Elayce Ismail have created.”
Opera Today